Barbecue machine



April 30, 1946. y. E. BRUNAMONTI BARBECUE MACHINE Filed Feb. 29, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 @MWL ATTORNEY April 3o, 1946.l

v. E. BRUNAMONTI BARBECUE MACHINE Filed'Feb. 2b; 1944 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR Vlero E. Brunamonr.

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ATTORNEY April 3o, .1946.,

BARBECUE MACHINE Filed Feb. 29, 1944 FIG.

V, E. BRUNAMONTI 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Valerio E. Brunamonfi ttovmn I the distance from the Patented Apr. 30, 1946 UNITED STATES t P'rlvi:Nfl.'55"OFFICE` Application. February 29, 1-944, Serial No..524,393

(,Cl. Sii-421) 3 Claims.

This invention relates to barbecue machines.

A general object of this invention is to provide a machine' having improved means forrotatab-ly and adjustably supporting meats, such as chickens, hams, etc., in horizontally and vertically l spaced rowsA in front of a heat unit, the arrangement being such that the meats are cooked uniformly in different lengths of timev according to heat unit.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide' improved means for rotatably supporting themeats in rows wherebythe supports'A are readily adjustable to different distances from the heat unit without necessarily stopping the` driving means for rotating thev supports.

Another object is to provide a barbecuemachine in which heat lossto the exterior thereof is greatly minimized. t

` Another object of the invention is to provide a barbecue machine of the type utilizing a coal, charcoal or like grate and which necessarily has a substantial opening in the front thereof, with means operable when the fuel is ignited for Ipreventing escape of smoke opening.

StillV another object ofthe invention is to provide in a barbecue machine an improved grate which facilitates stirring a coal or like re therein, and improved dumping they fire. when desired.

These and other objects of the invention will be manifest from the following brief description and the acompanying drawings.

O-f the acompanying drawings:

Figure 1 isl a front elevation, partly broken away, of a barbecue machine embodying the invention. Y

Figure 2 is a cross-section taken substantially on line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the heat unit.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view, partly broken away, of one of the rotable meat supporting elements or spears removed from the machine.

Referring to Figures 1 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings, the numeral particularly designates a casing dened by front, back, side and top walls I2, I3 and |4, respectively, within which casing issupported a heat unit l5, of the combustible fuel type, to be described later. The walls of casing I0 may be lined as indicated at I6, I6, with heat insulating material to minimize the amount of heat carried to the exterior of the apparatus. A conduit or draft pipe indicated at |0a, is proand fumes through said quickly releasable means for i?" vided. at the top of casing l0 to carry off smoke, excess: heat and fumes.

Forwardly adjoining casing I0, and surrounding a rectangular opening |8a in front wall I I thereof, opposite said heat unit, may be a hollow frame or casing |'8 providing top and bottom insulating air chambers I9 and 20, which may be utilized for food warming space, and similar side chambers 2| and 22,. the interior of which are accessible through front doors 23, 23.

The inner Walls 24, of side chambers 2| and 22 may have therein a plurality of corresponding oppositely aligned, vertically y'spaced slots 25, 2S open at the front ends thereof when doors 23 are open. On the bottom edges of each of the slots 26 may be a plurality of spaced notches 2l, 2.1 for rotatably receivingreduced portions 28a and 28h' of meat supporting elements or spits 28, the arrangement being such that the spits may be interchangeably received'through slots 26'and received in corresponding pairs of notches 2l in opposite walls, whereby meat on the spits, as indicated at M in Figure 1, may be barbecued or roasted in diierent lengths of time according to the distances of the spits fromv heat unit I5.

Slidably and removably mounted on each spit 28 may be a pair of spaced bars 29., :29, each having thereon inwardly extending pins 30, 30 for rengaging oppositeends of rows of meat M received thereon to prevent relative rotation of the meat on the spit as it is rotated. The. bars 29 are fixed in adiusted position as by means of set screws 29a. -Inaddition, pins or skewers 28o are insertable through the meat and selectively through a series ofapertures arranged in the spit 28 in spaced, staggered relation.

For continuously rotating the spits 28, they may have extensions 3| at one end to project into f chamber 2|, and bevel gears 32 fixed at the ends of these extensions for meshing with bevel gears 33 keyed in spaced relation on spaced vertical shafts 34, 34 driven by a train of gears 35, in turn driven, through shaft 36 and reducer 36a, by a suitable motor (not shown).

The spits are selectively insertable in any pair of slots 26 as previously described, with the bevel gears 32v removably engaging corresponding driven gears 33 to rotate the spits. The portions of extensions 3| between gears 32 and wall 24 may be utilized as handles. The opposite ends of the spits, which extend into chamber 25, are pointed asshown in Figure 4 for piercing through the meat, and from this end the adjacent bars 29 are removable to permit insertion and removal of the spit through the meat.

The heat unit l is of the type which utilizes combustible fuel, preferably coal or charcoal, and

comprises a fire box 35 of nre brick of known type and a grate 36h. The flrebox may have spaced side walls 31, 31 and a rear wall 38, that is, it is open at the top and bottom and at the front. The grate may be composed of laterally spaced vertical bars 39, 39, spaced from rear wall 38 and having rearward extensions 40 at the lower ends thereof, irnthe manner of the letter L, the top ends of the bars being connected to a cross-bar 4l and bottom endsbeing connected to a crossbar 42. Pins 43, 43 on the adjacent the upper ends thereof are removably received in slots 44 in the upper edges of plates 45 secured to the side walls is swingable from the full line position shown in Figure 2, to a dumping position as'shownv in chain-dotted lines. To to this position, it is relatively narrower than the width of opening l8a. The grate is releasably held in said full line position by means of latches 46, 45 pivoted to said extreme end bars 39, adjacent the bottom thereof, these latches having notches 41 in the `bottom edges for receiving pins 43, 48 in said side walls 31. The extensions 40 support fuel F, retained by the walls of the fire box and the vertical bars 39. The arrangement is such that a fire-stirring poker or the like may be vertically reciprocated between the vertical bars from beneath the extensions 40, there being no connecting structure between the bars forwardly of rear` wall 38, and between" upper and lower cross-bars 4l and 42.

A space' 50 between box and rear wallA l2 of casing` l0, provides additional heat insulationat the rear of the heat unit I5. A

When a. iire is first started in `heat unit l5 smoke and fumes are prevented from reaching the exterior ofthe machine by means of a bailie plate or shield 5l pivoted at 52 to casing i8, at the top of opening la, as shown in chain-dotted lines in Figure 2. The plate 5l in this position extends to a point adjacent the bottom of grate 36h, sufcient spaceA being provided belowthe plate* to provide draft for the re. The plate is only revquired for a short time until the fire gets sufficiently not, when it may besecured by means of a releasable catch 53, in the out-of-the-way position shownin full lines (Figure 2).

In the operation of the apparatus,` after the re has been started as described above, the motor (not shown) is started, to drive the shafts 34 and gears 33 continuously. With the doors 23 open loaded spits 28 may be arranged as desired by sliding them along the slots 26 to engage the reduced portions 28a and 28h in cooperating notches 21, with the gears 32 in mesh with corresponding driven gears 33. Doors 23 are kept closed after the spits are in position. Thus the spits will be continuously rotated in front of the hre, andmeat on the spits of the vertical rows will be uniformly cooked in different lengths of time according to the distances thereof from the fire. The air-insulated casing around the meats being treated is important particularly in eiecting uniform roasting and browning at all points along the spits. (The spits are readily interchangeable without stopping the driving mechamsm.

Modification of the invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

extreme end bars 39 permit swinging the grate vthe rear wall 38 of the re i 31, whereby the grate -rality of meat-supporting elements to be .ments being selectively What is claimed is:

1. A barbecue machine comprising a casing, a heat unit in said casing, said casing having an opening therein in front of said heat unit, a heat retaining frame of substantial width around said opening including walls at opposite sides of the opening, said opening communicating with the exterior through said frame, a series of horizontally extending vertically spaced slots in said walls, said slots being open aty the front of the frame, a plurality of horizontally spaced notches in the lower edges of each of said slots, a plu- Y rotatably received in said notches to extend between said walls in horizontally spaced series, said eleinsertable through the open ends of said spaced slots and being interchangeably 'receivable in said spaced notches thereof, and power driven means at one side of said opening and including a plurality of gears, said supporting elements having gears thereon for selective meshing engagement with the gears of said driven means to rotate the elements in said notches. Y

2. A barbecue machine comprising a casing, a heat unit in said casing, said casing having an opening therein in front of said heat unit, a. heatretaining frame of substantial width around said opening including'walls at opposite sides of the opening, said opening communicating with the exterior through said frame, said heat-retaining frame being hollow to provide substantially closed insulating air space or spaces around said opening, a series of horizontally extending vertically spaced slots in said walls, said slots being open at the front of the frame, a plurality of horizontally spaced notches in the lower edges of each of said slots, a plurality of meat-supporting elements to be rotatably received in said notches to extend between said walls in horizontally spaced series, said elements being selectively insertablethrough the open ends of said spaced slots and being interchangeably receivable in said spaced notches thereof, and power driyen means at. one side of said opening and including a plurality of gears, said supporting elvments having gears vthereon for selective meshing engagement with th'e gears ofvsaid driven means to rotate the elements in said notches. l Y

3. A barbecue machine comprising a casing, a heat unit in said casing, said casing having an opening therein in front of said heat unit, a heat retaining frame of substantial width around said opening including' walls at opposite sides of the opening, said opening communicating with the exterior through said frame, said heat retaining frame being hollow to provide substantially closed insulating air space or spaces around said opening', a series of horizontally extending vertically spaced slots in said walls, aplurality of horizontally spaced notches in the lower edges of each of said slots, a plurality of removable meat-supporting elements selectively positioned in said slots and rotatably received in said notches to extend between said Walls in spaced series, said elements being interchangeably receivable in said spaced notches, and power driven means at one side of said opening and including a plurality of gears,

said supporting elements having gears thereon forY 

